Anyone younger than 30 who was brought to the U.S. before turning 16 can get a work card and a two-year deferral from being deported – provided they pose no criminal or security threat, have been in the country for five continuous years, and have either earned a High School diploma, GED, or served in the military. Vanessa Crawford is Executive Director of the group Missouri Immigrant and Refugee Advocates (MIRA).

“This was the right thing to do," Crawford said. "They want to be productive members of the community, it’s good for our economy, it’s good for these people personally to allow them to stay here.”